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Snow – Pastor/Elder Jeff Warren

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          While experiencing our first Christmas down south, our family soon realized that many Christmas songs mentioning snow only pertained to the upper half of the country.  I suppose, we all took it for granted and never realized that there are no songs where someone dreams of a dreary, brown Christmas.  Snow is certainly tied to the ideal Christmas season, as the song lyrics can attest.  So, what is it about snow that is so wonderful?  The beauty, the purity, the soft calm and comfort that it can bring are all wondrous gifts to us.  Fourteen books of the Bible mention snow, sometimes in a literal sense, but most often as an analogy.  It’s this analogy though which might be it’s greatest gift; “…though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;” (Isaiah 1:18).

          And yet, what about that word scarlet?  Yes, the word does mean a bright color of red, but in this biblical form, it’s defined as grossly and glaringly offensive.  That’s how God sees our sin, grossly and glaringly offensive to His holiness and perfect righteousness.  Sin is the opposite picture of the purity of snow: putrid, vile, polluted, immoral, filthy, corrupt, rancid, warped, rebellious, sick, contentious, evil.

          And yet, God became man and entered into our broken world, willingly; to walk amongst those who had no idea just how truly revolting they must have been before the Son of God.  Oh the grace of our Lord!  “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,” (Romans 5:10a).  While enemies.  Let that sink in.

          And yet, through the incomprehensible, willing death of God’s Son.  The pure, spotless, blameless, sinless Lamb of God, Who shed His blood, took the punishment due us, the Father’s wrath being poured out upon Him, made atonement for us by His sacrifice,  “…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9:22), reconciling us to the Father!

          And yet, not just atonement and forgiveness of sins, but that He should dwell within His purchased people, His righteousness becoming ours, that we would clearly and rightly behold Him as Savior, Redeemer, King; that we would be filled with thanksgiving, adoration and delight, overflowing in worship, praise and rejoicing in our great and glorious God, rich in mercy and grace!

          So as we see the snow fall this winter, let it direct our minds and hearts to the beautiful picture that our sins are forgiven, that we have been cleansed and reconciled because of the glorious Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

          “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

                     wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7)

looking to Jesus,

pastor jeff

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